Tokyo Rubber Ends Down 9.7 Pct, Pressured By Weak Oil

TOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Tokyo rubber futures closed down 9,7 percent on Monday as tumbling crude oil prices fanned investor worries about global demand, with the benchmark rubber contract dipping to a near four-year low.
* The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery <0#JRU:> closed at 124.2 yen per kg, down 13.4 yen or about 9.7 percent, after earlier hitting an intraday low of 122.1 yen, the lowest since January 2005.
* "The market has not yet factored in a fall in demand due to the global recession," said Takashi Ogura, a director at Kanetsu Asset Management Co.
"Prices are low, having fallen more than 50 percent from a peak. But technical charts suggest room for further falls," he said, adding that the short-term market range fell to 100-150 yen late last month from 150-200 yen previously.
* U.S. crude futures <CLc1> fell below $53 per barrel on Monday after producer cartel OPEC decided over the weekend to delay consideration of a third supply cut to its next meeting later in December as economic woes reduce oil demand. [O/R]
* Amid concerns about the global economy, rubber prices often move in line with oil prices.
* Trading in the physical rubber market has been slow due to continued political confusion in Thailand, the world's top rubber producer.
* In Thailand, anti-government protestors ignored a police order to end a blockade of Bangkok's main airport, which entered its seventh day on Monday. [ID:nSP258694]
* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 3 percent to 65,995 tonnes in the week ended on Thursday, the exchange said on Friday. It was the lowest level since the week ended on Nov. 6.